Each Happy Ending's A Brand New Beginning
by writetherest
Summary: The little girl grinned as she looked up at her parents. "Daddy, is that story true?" "It absolutely is," came another voice from the hallway.


**Author's Note:** Written for a prompt on Tumblr, which is as follows. Swan Queen fluff - Regina's happy ending. Written long before the season finale, so this is sort of AU.

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"Daddy, tell me the story again!" Bright blue eyes looked up expectantly from the bed where the little girl was supposed to be sleeping.

"Again? Aren't you tired of this story by now?" Her father asked with a grin.

"No! Never! Please, Daddy, please."

"Yeah, Daddy, please," came a voice from the hallway.

"Mommy!" The little girl exclaimed, taking in the blonde standing in the doorway. "Will you tell it?"

"Oh no, baby." The blonde shook her head. "That's your daddy's story to tell. You know that."

The man laughed and sat down on the bed. "You could tell this story better than I ever could with how much you've heard it."

"No, I couldn't!" The little girl protested. "Silly Daddy."

"Alright." He gave in with a smile. "One more time. But then it's to bed with you."

He tickled her sides for a moment before tucking the covers around her. "Once upon a time there was a beautiful maiden who fell in love with a commoner. They made plans to be married, but the maiden's mother was not happy with this plan."

"So she forced the maiden to marry the King and become the Queen!" The little girl quickly interjected.

"So she did." He winked. "And the Queen was very sad, until she met the King's daughter. She loved the young girl and they soon became friends. They told each other secrets and the new Queen thought perhaps she could be happy there."

"But her friend trayed her!"

"Betrayed," her mother corrected with a smile.

"And the Queen was really sad 'cause she lost her friend and the commoner she loved."

"See, I told you that you didn't need me." Her father smiled.

"Daddy," she rolled her eyes and he laughed at the gesture.

"The Queen was very sad, but she was also very hurt and angry. She allowed herself to become bitter and became obsessed with getting revenge."

"People called her evil 'cause of that. But she wasn't really, right Daddy?"

"Right. She wasn't truly evil. But she did do some very, very bad things."

"The curse!" The little girl clapped with glee.

"Yes. The curse. The Queen cursed everyone in fairy tale land and sent them to live in a small town, here in our world, with no recollection of who they really were. For 28 years, the curse worked and the Queen ruled over the town and time never moved. And she thought that that was her happy ending."

"But the Queen dopted a son! And he knew the truth."

"Adopted," her mother smiled.

"He thought he did." The man nodded. "So he went in search of a savior, to destroy the Queen."

"The White Knight!" The little girl bounced up and down. "She was his real mommy."

"She was his birth mother, yes. And he found her and convinced her to come back with him to the town and stay."

"But she didn't believe in the curse."

"No, she didn't."

"And she and the Queen didn't like each other very much."

Her mother snorted. "That's an understatement."

"But they both loved the little boy, even though he didn't see that the Queen loved him at first. And the White Knight saved the little boy and the Queen from danger and they slowly became friends."

"The White Knight knowed the Queen wasn't evil and she falled in love with her!"

"Eventually yes. But the Queen had been hurt before and she didn't trust the White Knight, so she tried to push her away. But the White Knight didn't let her. And the Queen started to give in a little and she let the White Knight and the little boy spend time together, which made them both happy."

"And then the White Knight got hurt!"

A look passed over her father's face for a moment before he continued the story. "Yes, she did. She was hurt very badly by the man who had created the curse. And no one could save her."

"Cept the Queen! She had to kiss her. True love's kiss! And it breaked the spell."

The man and woman both smiled. "It sure did. The White Knight woke up and the curse was broken. Everyone remembered who they really were. And a lot of them were mad at the Queen for what she'd done. Including the little boy."

"But the White Knight 'tected her and made everyone see she wasn't evil. And the little boy loved her again."

"Yep." He smiled. "And because the curse was broken, everyone could go back to fairy land."

"Cept the boy. 'Cause he wasn't from there!"

"Right. And so the Queen and the White Knight said they wouldn't go back either, even though the Queen would have to give up all her powers. But she did, because she loved the little boy and the White Knight more than all of that."

"And then a lot of the others stayed too. 'Cause they liked it here."

"That's right. Many people decided to stay. And the little boy was very happy that they did." He looked over at his wife and gave her a wink.

"And the White Knight and the Queen got married and lived happily ever after." The little girl giggled.

"You forgot the most important part," her mother smiled. "The little boy grew up and he got married and had a little girl of his own. And she made the Queen's happy ending even better, because the Queen loved her so, so much."

The little girl grinned as she looked up at her parents. "Daddy, is that story true?"

"It absolutely is," came another voice from the hallway.

"Grandma Em!" The little girl giggled, jumping out of her bed and racing into her grandmother's arms.

"Really, Ma? You couldn't have waited 'til morning? We'll never get her to sleep now."

"Oh Henry, let her be." His wife scolded as she watched Emma spin her granddaughter around.

"Thank you, Ava." Emma grinned at her.

"It's really, really true, Grandma Em?" The little girl pressed.

"You bet it is, Princess." Emma kissed her cheeks. "And if you don't believe me, go ask Grandma 'Gina."

The little girl wiggled to be let down and raced for the front door where Regina was just entering.

"Grandma 'Gina! Grandma 'Gina!" She launched herself into Regina's arms. "Is it true? Did the White Knight and the Queen really break the curse and get married and live happily ever after?"

Regina glanced over at the three people standing in the hallway - her wife, her son, and her daughter-in-law - before looking back to the little girl in her arms. She hugged her tightly for a moment before she found her voice.

"It's absolutely true. The Queen got her happy ending. In fact, she's living it right this very minute."


End file.
